Brief: This is a fantasy-scale model o' t' Fireball XL5 spacecraft, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, which be t' subject o' an old TV show. Begad! Blimey! I have seen a photo o' a high power Fireball model, however, shiver me timbers, me motivation came from a thread in t' ‘Rocketry Forum’. Begad! Blimey! Inspired by a model bein' developed by Steve Rogers, me bucko, I began thinkin' about t' pile o' parts that I got from LOC as me Descon 9 prize and decided t' give it a shot. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! I made several minor adjustments t' t' scale factor t' fit t' parts I had on hand, me bucko, but t' overall look is correct.

Construction:
Fireball XL5's producer be Gerry Anderson, who also created t' 'Space1999' and 'Thunderbirds' series. Blimey! Like most things in t' universe, shiver me timbers, t' Fireball has quite a few web sites dedicated t' it.

If you are interested, here are t' main sites I referenced. Ya scallywag! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! From these, you can access many more.

• (1) Steve Rogers' Fireball XL5 site [dead link]
• (2) Steve Rogers' Fireball construction page [dead link]
• (3) A comprehensive site
• (4) Fireball XL5 plans

I decided t' base this model on LOC 2.5" and 3" tubes with t' 2.5" tube runnin' full length. Avast, me proud beauty! I conveniently had a Fat Boy nose cone, which fit t' LOC tubin' and provided a good basis for t' Fireball cone. Avast! I chose a 29mm motor mount since I knew t' rocket would end up bein' heavy for its size. Aye aye! I was right. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Finally, arrr, matey, I decided t' use foam board for t' fins. Begad! It is light and easy t' work with, me bucko, arrr, I had it available, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and I generally seem t' be stuck on this somewhat unconventional material. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It has worked well for me up t' this point, me hearties, and it will be interestin' t' see if it will hold up t' t' forces exerted on t' large side pods. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Takin' t' hint from Steve Roger's site, shiver me timbers, I took t' plans available in reference #4 and printed out a set o' full-scale fin templates. Avast, me proud beauty! T' followin' is a summary o' t' construction techniques I used.

Side pods - T' pods are made o' three layers o' foam board with a basswood support in t' middle layer. T' edges were sealed with Fill 'n Finish.

Side fins - These are foam board structures with a balsa leadin' edge. Arrr! Blimey! Structural support includes a basswood spar, shiver me timbers, an idea I also borrowed from Steve Rogers. Avast, me proud beauty! T' spar fits into slots on t' side pods and extends through both t' 2.5" and 3" tubes t' t' motor mount. T' support t' whole structure, I filled t' fin units with 2-part foam from Giant Leap.

Top fin - Since it will nay be subject t' t' same forces (takeoff and landing) as t' side fins, this fin is nay foam filled. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! Instead, shiver me timbers, I added some internal ribs and two small dowels, which extend into t' 3" tube. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Blimey! T' leadin' edge is also reinforced with a 1/8" dowel.

Nose cone - Due t' its questionable aerodynamics, shiver me timbers, I projected that t' nose cone would end up bein' quite heavy and would require a sturdy tip. T' tip consists o' a suitably sized paper cone printed from VCP. Ya scallywag! It is thoroughly soaked with CA and filled with 2-part foam. Arrr! T' foam kept tryin' t' clog t' small hole and I wasted a couple o' small batches, but ended up workin' out well. T' fins on t' nose cone are 3/16" balsa.

Front transition - For t' long 2.5" t' 3" transition at t' front o' t' body, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I ended up just usin' a poster paper wrap patterned from a VCP template. Ya scallywag! I decided this would suffice since it probably would nay take too much o' a beating. Begad! Well, blow me down! Since t' section o' 3" tube be about an inch short, arrr, matey, I made this transition about one inch longer than I be supposed t' be.

Rear transitions - T' aft o' t' rocket has two transitions. T' first (3" t' 2.5") is made from poster paper and t' second (54mm t' 29mm) is formed from epoxy filler. Ya scallywag! T' latter was scavenged from t' remains o' a previous project.

Motor mount - T' motor mount is pretty standard and provides both t' attachment point for t' ¼" Keelhaul®©™ shock cord and a bolt t' provide positive motor retention.

Trim - T' remainin' pods and ribs were made from balsa stock, bamboo skewers, matey, 2 sizes o' wooden 'half- eggs' from Michael's craft store, shiver me timbers, matey, a couple balsa nose cones, BT-5 tubing, ya bilge rat, matey, tubes from AT First Fire igniters, ya bilge rat, matey, shiver me timbers, and small cones turned from 3/8" dowels. Arrr! Aye aye! Other than some high skill level Estes kits, I've never built a rocket with this much detailing.

Stability - I first made a 'what-if' design in Rocksim t' get a feel for t' effects o' t' forward fins. Blimey! I decided t' CG would have t' be betwixt t' transition and t' side fins. Then, ya bilge rat, I loaded a G80 (the biggest engine I'd ever want t' use) and some nose weight. With t' CG approximately 2" in front o' t' side fins, me bucko, t' spin test was successful. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Then, I buried t' eyebolt and lead weights in 2-part foam.

I primed t' model with Plasti-Kote white sandable primer and painted it with Testor's Stainless Steel Metalizer. Begad! I did a little buffin' and then put on a layer o' clear sealer. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' red and yellow trim is Trim Monokote. I used small pieces o' blue laser-finish contact paper t' simulate t' windows on t' nose cone and top cockpit. Avast! Arrr! This ended up lookin' pretty nice IMHO.

Here's me procedure for applyin' t' Trim Monokote:

1. For t' curved sections, matey, shiver me timbers, carefully measure and mark t' points along t' edge o' t' fin where t' trim will go.
2. Cut a 1" wide piece o' trim that be t' exact length o' t' path t' be covered. Arrr! Begad! I would cut a piece a little long, me bucko, lay it onto t' curve, and then trim it t' t' exact length.
3. Cut slits along each side, leavin' about 1/8 in t' center. Avast! I started cuttin' them approximately every 1/8 inch on t' tighter bends, matey, me hearties, and up t' every 1/2 inch as t' curve straightened out.
4. Remove t' backin' and start installin' it on t' edge o' t' fin. Begad! Work your way along, shiver me timbers, layin' down t' tabs as you go.
5. For straight sections, I just cut rectangular strips that overlapped t' face o' t' fins ~ 1/2 inch. Aye aye! T' width varied with t' thickness o' t' fin bein' covered.
6. Usin' t' templates used t' make t' fin itself, shiver me timbers, me bucko, cut pieces o' Monokote that are ~ 1/4 inch smaller in all dimensions. That way, these pieces sit on top o' t' strips that have already been installed, but do nay go right t' t' edges o' t' fin. Arrr! Note that me printed templates also showed t' markings, arrr, so I could use them for t' stripes too.

Flight:
For t' first launch, I decided t' go with a G40-4 instead o' a G80. Aye aye! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Usin' t' conventional wisdom o' how t' size an engine, this would make t' flight slightly underpowered. However, I be also concerned about t' side pods holdin' on and decided t' 3.7 thrust ratio would be OK. Blimey! I flew t' model at t' MDRA high power launch on 4/6/2002. Aye aye! I haven't been as nervous/excited since my Level-2 flight. Avast! For a small rocket, I had a lot o' time invested! I bolted on a motor retainer, installed a Keelhaul®©™ chute pad, and used t' 42" chute from me DG&A Lazarus. T' winds were stiff and t' Fireball weather cocked severely. Begad! Aye aye! It also had a corkscrew motion, which got more pronounced after burnout.

Should have used t' G80. Ya scallywag! However, me bucko, it did no skywriting, ya bilge rat, flippin' end-over-end, or other extreme behavior. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! T' chute came out in plenty o' time but t' late ejection caused a 2-3" zipper. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! This is easily fixable and I will try her again on a G80.

Summary:
This be a fun and rewardin' project. T' foam board design worked fine, matey, but after addin' basswood supports, fillin' t' fins with foam, arrr, etc., matey, I am nay sure how much weight I saved. Arrr! Arrr! Blimey! Despite t' zipper, I deem t' first flight successful. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! I could have flown it again but decided t' wait and fix t' zipper - t' cold and windy and I had other stuff t' go up.

Other:
If you ever try t' build one o' these, ya bilge rat, be aware that slight differences in t' forward fins can make a *large* difference in t' stability o' t' model.